MINNEAPOLIS — Zion Williamson is willing to play for anyone who drafts him — including the tanking Knicks.
“Yes, if they draft me, I would love to play for them,” the almost-certain No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft said on Friday, after he was honored as the Oscar Robertson and Associated Press National Player of the Year at US Bank Stadium.
The Knicks, with a 15-63 record entering Friday, are close to clinching the worst record in the NBA, which would give them a 14 percent chance to land the No. 1 pick. The bottom three teams have the same odds to win the lottery.
Williamson has yet to officially declare for the NBA draft, yet it seems a foregone conclusion after his memorable freshman year at Duke. The 6-foot-7, 285-pound freak athlete averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, leading the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight, where they fell to Michigan State, 68-67, in a classic East Region final. With Williamson in the lineup, Duke went 29-3, but the Blue Devils couldn’t get past the Spartans last Sunday.
“I wish I was here under different circumstances, but you win some, you lose some,” he said. “So you just got to move on.”
Williamson likely will be moving on to the NBA. Robertson, the 12-time NBA All-Star, said he can’t wait to see what Williamson can do at the next level.
“You may not believe it now, but you can get a whole lot better,” Robertson told him on the dais. “I hope you get with the right team, because you’re going to be a tremendous star [in] the NBA.”